Minitab Notes for Activity 3

The only part of this that really needs to be done with Minitab are questions 5 and 6. However, if you want to take the time to enter all the information into Minitab, it will can create the marginal distributions for you. If you choose to use Minitab for just parts 5 and 6, then enter only the number of rolls into the worksheet.

Creating the Worksheet

You will be entering your own information for this activity.

  1. Label five empty columns as "game", "first roll", "initial result", "final result", "rolls". You're free to call them something else, but you'll need to adjust the instructions accordingly. Note that you may only need to enter the number of rolls if you're doing the marginal distributions by hand.
  2. Enter the data into the worksheet.
  3. Optional - not recommended if you get the project done in one sitting.
    1. Go File / Save Project As
    2. Move through the filesystem My Documents
    3. Type a name that is you'll remember
    4. Click OK

From now on, when you need to work with the project, open the the file you saved.

Creating Marginal Distributions (Questions 2, 3, and 4)

Although a number, the first roll is actually a categorical variable as it doesn't make any sense to compare a roll of 4 with a roll of 9. The results are also categorical variables.

  1. Choose Stat / Tables / Tally Individual Variables
  2. Select the "first roll", "initial result", and "final result" variables.
  3. Check the box beside Percents so that both Counts and Percents are displayed.
  4. Click OK

Summarizing the Data (Question 5)

  1. Choose Stat / Basic Statistics / Display Descriptive Statistics
  2. Double click on the variable "rolls"
  3. Click on Statistics and check the boxes you need: sum, mean, median, variance, and standard deviation
  4. Click OK

Histogram (Question 6)

  1. Choose Graph / Histogram / With Fit
  2. Select "rolls" for the graph variable
  3. Click OK

Describe the shape of the distribution. Use words like unimodal, bimodal, uniform, symmetric, skewed, triangular, bell-shaped, etc., as appropriate